The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-06-25
ANNUAL REPORT
ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE OF lex AS,
For the year ending August 81 1875.
Pages II, 10, 10 and IT,.
VI.-THE COST OF CRIME.

With view being able lay before your Exceency
the Legislature estimate approaching accuracy to the
actual cost of executing the penal laws of the State on August
9Th 1875 addressed circular letter to District Clerks
tanning the following inquiries:
What the number of criminal upon your docket
the last of court and how many finally disposed
@ What the number of civil at the term,
and how many disposed of?
g. State the number of prisoners confined in county jail
at the date of your reply to this.
What paid out by county for the support
of prisoners from August 1s 1874 to August 1s 1851
g. What amount paid out for guards during the same
period2
What paid for jury service in criminal and
civil each during the same period?
T. What the outstanding debt of your county, including
subsidies, on August LIST, 1875? e.
On September 1875 my solicitation the Inspector Of
the Pententay furnished the number of convc received
the pentenary from each county for the ending August
3s 1875 One hundred and fifteen District Clerks have
piled with my request and the information from both sources
is hereto appended in tabuated form marked Appendix
"B and to which the attention of your Exceency is
spectuy called From this table it will be that in one
hundred and fifteen organized counties there pending at the
the District Courts II 800 criminal of which
1887 disposed of H. 1872 civil of which 1865
disposed Of s179216 paid during the for the sup
port of prisoners $685. paid out during the same
period for prison guards 1902 256S5 paid out for jury
service 29346 is the aggregate of the county indebted
ness of said counties and 602 the number prisoners
fined the various ais August 20h 1875 The last col
contains full report from the countless showing
recent M the pententary of 92 conycs for the year ending
August 3lst 1875 This information, before collected
be of service to Legislators in Calculating ques
tons likely come before them and not lacking IN general
every intelligent citizen who desires to amiliarze
himself with the condition of his county and State these sew
eal important particulars The columns embracing the cases
in the have already been laid before the Constitutional
Convention upon request for its information in the work OF
judicial apportionment.
The chief object in obtaining the information embodied in
the table however, be able and lay before the
country estimate of how much forced to pay
annually in cash for the punishment of criminals The
expended directly by the State be gathered from
the various legislative appropriations and the general average
of those counties from which reports have been received may
be very well taken applicable those counties not report
ing estimate threeourths of the time of the Supreme
Court and oneha the time of District Judges devoted to
criminal business which is really underestimate. Sixteen
counties have made separate reports to the cost OF ues IN
criminal and civil cases. and the proportion as AZ for GRIM
nal for civil This will be adopted the ratio
pcabe to head of disbursement The item of $4,000
deficiency payment of fees due district attorneys clerks and
hers is the estimate furnished me by the Comptroller of
Public Accounts from reliable data in his office and may be
considered least closely approximang accuracy Ger
tanly over-estimate.
The following the estimate make of the amounts paid out
by and counties in executing the criminal laws for the
wear ending August 31st 1875: